Technology
The Digital Revolution Kills Jobs Faster Than It Creates New Ones
There are two kinds of people: those who complain about disruption and those who celebrate it. The former are the dying indie bookstores, music labels, film industry, little publishing houses unhappy with Amazon’s ToS – the latter are the start-up generation, VC investors, code monkeys and serial entrepreneurs. To those who preach the gospel of the…
Why You Can’t Escape From The Internet
When toddlers are getting addicted to iPads, parents spy on their kids on Facebook and teenagers can’t survive 24 hours offline without experiencing withdrawal symptoms it’s hard not to blame technology. After all, we wouldn’t be experiencing these problems without technology, so it must be technology which causes them, right? “Fitter, Happier, More Productive” While the symptoms…
Code or Die: The Future Of Work?
In a new video designed to spread awareness about the importance of teaching people how to code, big promises are being made. Backed up by talking heads such as Zuckerberg, Gates and many more, the basic premise is that coding is the core asset for tomorrow’s job market. “Want to enjoy the colorful offices and…
20,000 Mockingbirds: On The Changing Unchanging Nature of Books
While working myself through the back-list of the Nebula Awards for Best Novel, I came across Slow River by Nicola Griffith, a dark science fiction novel set in the not too distant future. At one point the protagonist tells an anecdote which is highly relevant to everyone with an interest in electronic reading or digital…
How The Cloud Killed The Library
It was not long ago that every home had a shrine of collected media: CDs, DVDs, books neatly organized for quick reference and dusted off daily for the prying eyes of neighbors and potential mating partners. In reverse these shelves helped us assess the alleged mental and emotional development or character of the people we…
Ebooks, Cooking and Travel: Why I’m Learning Another Language
When I graduated from college in December, a part of me thought that my time as a learner was over. I had this great consulting position in Seattle, with plans to make a move after the holidays, and was ready to leave the role of “student” behind. Yet, I am finding more and more that…